BSA Rules and Regulations

[rmiessler]

So, after reading some threads, I still cannot gather where you actually can download or obtain the National BSA rules and regulations.

Seems like it give the perception of a secret organization.

[evmori]

Some are available on the BSA site. Some are available only in print. It isn't a secret organization, but not all the rules & regs are in one place. It would be nice if they were.

[Kahuna]

If they were all in one place, they'd make a law library look like a broom closet.

[OldGreyEagle]

rmiessler

 

Perhaps we could help you with an answer, what do you wish to know?

[Bob White]

There are many different rules and regulations in the BSA not all of them affect all levels of the scouting. Some are organizational, some procedural, some are program related. Since not every rule is needed by every level of scouting the BSA has arranged them in topic specific manuals and forms.

 

For instance rules and policies related to safety are in the Guide to Safe Scouting. Policies and procedures related to advancement are in the Advancement Committee Policies and Procedures manual.

 

Rules on fundraising are on the back of the Unit Money Earning Application.

 

Rules on uniforming are in the Insignia Guide.

 

This way, rather than just have a book that lists rules, we have the the rules shown in context to the topic the relate to and how they apply. This not only makes them easier to find and understand but makes it less expensive and easier to update.

 

The rules and policies that effect unit program and operation will almost always fall into the categories or Safety, Advancement, Uniforming, Fundraising, and Membership, and they are easily found in manuals and forms readily available on line or from your local Scout Service Center.

 

Organizational Rules which make up the bulk of the BSA Rules and Regulations, effect the BSA at Council and National corporate levels and are unrelated to unit operations. Because of that you will rarely have need to refer to them. Even Council level scouters and professionals rarely have need to refer to them. Each Council office has a copy of the BSA Rules and Regs on hand.

 

They are not secret they are simply unrelated to the responsibilities of unit level volunteerism. So you see there is nothing secretive at all about them.

[evmori]

Wouldn't it be nice if all the rules & regs were in one place?

 

My company has all their policy & procedures on an internal web site. This would be a great thing for the BSA to organize & do.

 

One stop shopping in this day & age is the way to go.

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[FScouter]

The Boy Scout Handbook, Patrol Leader Handbook, etc. contain nearly all the information needed to operate a successful Scouting program. If there is an idea "The Regulations" will fix anything, that's a clear indication that either folks haven't read the Handbooks, or don't want to get along with one another.

[John-in-KC]

From what I've seen, the rules and regulations are pretty terse. About the only exception to that is our favorite discussion topic the DRP.

 

For instance, in ACP&P #33088, the Rules and Regulations describe the rank system of Boy Scouting in 1 4-line paragraph.

 

Learning which documents are program documents (Boy Scout handbook, MB pamphlets, PL handbook) and which are policy documents (Uniform Guide, ACP&P, Finance Guide, ad infinitum) is useful, but not essential. That's why we have District Operating Committee chairs, Council Executive Boards, and the professional service.

 

Even then, there's stuff local councils choose to bypass. One of my favorites is the staff Class A uniform at a neighboring Council Scout Reservation. Boy Scout shorts, Venturing shirt, and custom epaulet tabs.

[evmori]

Well, by signing our application aren't we agreeing to abide by the rules & regs set forth by the BSA? Based on that, we should be able to view them if needed instead of going on a seek & find mission every time a question comes up.

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[OldGreyEagle]

What problem did you have and how did/would the BSA rules and regulations help/would have helped?

[FScouter]

The answer to every possible question one could ever need answered may be found in the commonly available publications. Seek in the index and ye shall find.

[epalmer84]

I have Rules and Regulations of the Boy Scouts of America. from 1976 and 1985. I have not looked at them in quite a while, but they are only 20 or 30 pages in length. A lot of it is related to the National Executive Board and its operation. Sections that are applicable to delivering the program are reprinted in various manuals. Content related to uniforming is published in the Insignia Guide, fundraising on "Unit Money Earning Application", safety in the Guide to Safe Scouting and advancement are in Advancement Committee Policies and Procedures.

 

Ed

[emb021]

Sigh.

 

The BSA Rules and Regulations ARE in one place. The document is #57-492. The last version I have is dated July 2003.

 

You can get it and the BSA Charter and Bylaws (#57-491) for about $5 from National. There used to be an address you could request it from.

 

Nothing earth shattering or the like. The BSA's attitude is that those R&R us rank and file types need will be repeated in the various booklets (Council, District, Advancement Committee, Leadership Training, Insignia Guide, etc).

 

[Beavah]

Yah, rmiessler, your question is a bit unclear and is therefore generatin' a bunch of different answers, eh?

 

If you are referring to the Rules and Regulations of the BSA, then epalmer is correct. That is a specific document. It is the set that you agree to when yeh sign an adult leader application or a CO signs a charter. It is not generally published nor made available to folks who aren't members of da National Corporation (yellow tab scouters / council reps attending national meetings and such). You can request a copy through your council Scout Executive. Expect him to be a little bit cagey and want to know why.

 

If you are referrin' to more general program regulations and guidelines, like specifics on advancement or G2SS stuff or whatnot, then BobWhite is correct, eh? Those things are scattered all over the place in various program documents and such. That's because, unlike R&R which are formally adopted by the National Executive Board, da program-level stuff gets generated by staff members and individual program offices and committees and such. So they tend to show up in publications put together by that program group. Because those are youth program materials, da lines of what constitutes "rule" vs. program guidance are blurry and sometimes meaningless. There's not necessarily a consistent policy adoption process, so in that context "regulation" often refers to how strongly the writers or program office feel about that item's importance as a program feature (or how da current staff is handling that issue on a regular basis).

 

If you're into legal analogies, yeh might sort of think about R&R as "laws" while all da other stuff is administrative regulations, departmental work product, and guidance.

 

Beavah

 

[Bob White]

There's not necessarily a consistent policy adoption process,

 

Not true at all. BSA policies, rules, regulations, whichever label you give them must all be approved by a majority vote of the BSA executive board. There is a formal adoption process that every policy goes through.

 

As for telling what ios a policy or regul;ation and what is not isnot hard to distiguish at all.

 

If the title of the document doesn't give that away then you will find either adjoining text telling you that it is from the BSA rules and regulations, or you will find it in bold text with a footnote telling you that it is a policy as in the case of the Guide to Safe Scouting.

 

There is no ambiguity between what is a rule, and what is a program recomendation that I have seen thus far.